The National Bottle Museum is located on Rte. 50 in the heart of the village of Ballston Spa, New York. The museum occupies a three story brick commercial building in the historic business district of what was once a flourishing resort community in the 1800s. Ballston Spa is the site of many once-famous mineral water springs and was a popular "watering hole" for the rich and famous during the hey day of the mineral water industry.

No longer advertised or widely marketed as cures, only two mineral water springs continue to flow in the village. The Sans Souci flows freely during the summer months, and the Old Iron Springs flows year round. Both are within a short walking distance from the museum, and the museum stands directly across the street from where the world famous Sans Souci Hotel once stood.

The village itself has been aptly described as an outdoor museum of architecture. Many of the beautiful Victorian homes are being appropriately restored to their former grandeur, and are emerging once again as "painted ladies" of the past.

The museum's mission is to preserve the history of our nation's first major industry: bottle making. Millions of glass bottles per year were manufactured by hand for the mineral waters of Saratoga County alone, enabling the area to participate in world commerce during the early 1800s. A glassworks set in the wilderness above the nearby town of Greenfield employed hundreds of workers and glassblowers from the 1840s to the 1860s. In that era, all bottles were manufactured exclusively with hand tools and lung power.

Your donations help:
Maintenance of facilities and to expand our teaching program in glass blowing and flamework.

https://www.nationalbottlemuseum.org/

There are many ways you can get involved.

Click here to learn more:

https://www.nationalbottlemuseum.org/national/about.html